Prerequisites

This course provides a background in solid state physics and gives students information about modern directions in research and application of solid state science. The course serves as a foundation for more advanced and specialized courses in the engineering of solid state devices and the properties of materials. The main subjects considered are: crystal structure, elastic waves-phonones, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics, lattice heat capacity and thermal conductivity, electrons in crystals, electron gas heat capacity and thermal conductivity, metals, semiconductors, superconductors, dielectric and magnetic properties, and optical properties. Amorphous solids, recombination, photoconductivity, photoluminescence, injection currents, semiconductor lasers, high temperature superconductors, and elements of semiconductor and superconductor microelectronics are considered as examples.